Defense Media Network

The Evolution of the U-2 Dragon Lady

With the Lockheed Martin U-2 Dragon Lady set to give way to the Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk, President Barack Obama’s fiscal year 2015 military budget proposes cutting the U-2, the U.S. Air Force has released a video produced by Airman Drew Buchanan showing the evolution of the venerable spy plane from the perspective of its pilots. First entering service in 1955, the U-2 has been at the center of many of the flashpoints of the Cold War. The Dragon Lady might yet get a respite, it still flies higher and with a greater sensor payload than the Global Hawk.

U-2 Dragon Lady

The U-2 Dragon Lady can execute surveillance and reconnaissance missions from altitudes of more than 70,000 feet. Lockheed Martin photo

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